Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

My short attention span is forcing me to think Google’s Android isn’t going to arrive, ever.  Despite rumors that the cell phone OS was going to be delayed, then HTC’s insistence to the contrary, I just don’t know what to think.  Then this video surfaces, in all its highly suspect qualities.

Could even the very best version of Android and supreme developer support bring us the equal of the iPhone and the App Store?  Even with the crashes (thanks a lot Super Monkey Ball), can Android do better?

This video does look to hold some promise.  What is your take, does Android have the stuff?

Via [Boy Genius]

This is where we call out by names the actions and companies that seem odd, out of touch or just plain straight up smokin crack.  Technology is an odd realm where PR speak doesn’t hold a lot of water if the 1s and 0s don’t line up.  This week sees posturing, positioning and flat out insanity.  Here is what caught my eye this week:

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There was a lot of talk about who would take the biggest blow in the smartphone world with the intro of the iPhone.  A Changewave study shows this chart.  What’s interesting isn’t the data the graph is making obvious, it is the totals. 

If you add up the % of the smartphone market, you’ll find the total market segment being served by Palm, Rim and Apple throughout this period isn’t changing.  It is staying relatively flat at about 2/3rds of all smartphones.  So this would suggest, the merry trio are not bringing new folks into the smartphone market, rather just cutting up the pie differently.

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This is where we call out by names the actions and companies that seem odd, out of touch or just plain straight up smokin crack.  Technology is an odd realm where PR speak doesn’t hold a lot of water if the 1s and 0s don’t line up.  This week sees posturing, positioning and flat out insanity.  Here is what caught my eye this week:

iPhone 3G stock - Apple seems to be going to the Nintendo Wii’s model of avoiding any price deterioration: keep the darn thing out of stock.  Almost 3 weeks after launch and still lines in most stores to pick one up; if they even have the stock.  This doesn’t seem to be settling down; and it is looking like a huge customer grab for AT&T.  Amazing, either demand is just huge or Apple is playing with the supply figures.  Either way, crack is involved.

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In a statement released with Garmins earnings report, the Nuvifone has been pushed back from its original estimate of Q4 of this year to the “first half of 2009”.  Surely, it is not the navigation part of the convergence device that is slowing the team down, or is it?

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So we’ve all been there. That rush of panic when we’ve lost (or at least momentarily think we’ve lost) our cell phone.  When our phone contains lots of confidential data like bank info and emails, the panic level tends to rise even more quickly. Now we don’t have to just worry about Joe Finder using up our minutes, but now Joe Finder could access our bank accounts and read all those spicy emails we sent to Suzy at the office, uh-oh. This not even counting in the fact that the money spent on the phone is now down the drain.

Enter your possible savior, the cell phone Superhero! Nope, it’s not some guy sporting a cape and a mask (regardless of their logo), but a new service just launched yesterday in the US and Canada from YouGetItBack.com. Claiming to be able to protect your confidential data and aid in safely returning your gadget, YouGetItBack.com may just be a lost cell phone users new best friend.  The way it works is that once a phone is lost or stolen, subscribers of the downloadable software simply go online and remotely lock their mobile phone. This will prevent anyone else from being able to make calls or access information on the device. Subscribers are also able to retrieve contacts from the phone via the internet.

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Gemei has a new PMP called the X780 which is similar to another one of their PMP’s called the X760. This one is the newer and more improved model, and comes with a few improved features.

One of the main features in Gemei’s PMP’s are the gaming-like qualities. Gemei’s previous PMP’s, the X900 and the X590 featured gaming emulators, but weren’t iPod Touch knockoffs at the time. However, with the X780, Gemei seems to hope to create something similar to the iPod Touch, and they sacrifice gaming support to achieve this. Some features include a 3-inch WQVGA touch screen, TV out and FM tuner.

The X780 also has support for a wide variety of media formats to include MP3, WMA, WAV, APE, FLAC, RM, RMVB, FLV, AVI, MPG, MPEG, DAT, ASF, WMV, VOB, 3PG, MP4, JPG, BMP, GIF, and PNG.

Unfortunately, no word on pricing or availability at this time.

Via [PMP Today]

Developer: Maximo
Price: iP-HS2 iMetal Isolation Headset: $69.99, iMetal Stereo Headphones: $69.99
Availability: Out now
Pros: Both models offered great sound quality and comfort.
Cons: The mic picked up some extra background noise. Otherwise the iMetal Isolation headphones rubber ear pieces felt a little thin.
Overall: Quality headsets at a decent price, would not hesitate to recommend.

Keep reading to check out the full review...

That is right, a new iPhone App we probably won’t see at the App Store comes to us from the mind of Joss Whedon and company embedded in the new web smash vlog, Dr. Horrible.  Starring the iPhone carrying “Barney” from How I met your mother, Neil Patrick Harris sports another iPhone, this time for remote control of a van.  Clearly, the App controls the vehicle’s direction and lights.  Perhaps other functions, such as radio controls can be found by searching?

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Some developers are getting fed up.  Just a few months ago, they were the hope for higher level of happiness with our phone.  Now, they’ve become teenagers: depressed, full of angst, holding ill will toward “the man”.  In the developer forum, a petition has been presented that is gaining some steam with a reasonable list of demands: let us know WTF is going on.” I am paraphrasing here.

With this past weekends news of 10 million iPhone apps (and I am personally addicted to sifting through the App Store in my free time - damn Apple), you’ve got to wonder how strong a temptation it is just to give up on Android’s promises and move on.  Surely Google is feeling some of this:

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